Face Talk: Did you know that if you don’t wash your face at night you are leaving all the oils, make up and dirt you’ve accumulated throughout the day to settle into your pores? It will stretch your pores out and allow bacteria to build, pretty gross right ?

Washing your face at night is crucial to your overall health and an important part of your skin care routine.

According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology in June 2015, Lead, Mercury and Cadmium, and other heavy metals found in cosmetic products may act directly on the skin, or can be absorbed through the skin into the blood, where the toxins accumulate in the body and exert toxic effects in various organs. At night, you must remove the dirt, oils, makeup and environmental contaminants that accumulate on your skin.

When you wash your face in the morning, you are removing the accumulated dirt and bacteria that you acquired overnight, and are preparing your skin to face the day.

1. Wash your hands first, to remove contaminents before you apply your cleanser.
2. Wash your skin using a cream based cleanser with warm, not hot, water.
2. Use a clean washcloth (every time you wash) to gently exfoliate. Avoid rubbing hard, which can irritate your skin.
3. Pat dry with a clean towel.
4. Follow with a toner, which removes additional dirt and oil, and balances your skin’s PH levels.
5. A hydration serum can be added next to prepare your skin for moisturizing.
6. Follow with a moisturizer formulated for your skin type.
7. In the morning, repeat these steps, but use a moisturizer combined with a sunscreen.

My favorite nighttime regimen is after I play soccer I will do a gentle exfoliating mask, with the poor minimizing toner followed by a vitamin a treatment and night cream it’s a routine I do every night to keep my glow.